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kaelz 's review for:
Little Suns
by Zakes Mda
I'm a sucker for a beautiful book cover... and so, logically, I bought this books on a total whim about 3 months ago. The name Zakes Mda was only vaguely familiar at that stage.
Then, I started noticing it everywhere. Apparently, 'Little Suns' won the 2017 Barry Ronge Fiction Prize. Of course, I had to pick it up off the shelf.
It was historical fiction... Blah. I've said before how much I love this genre.
So, anticipating disappointment, I began reading. The world of Malangana absorbed me from the first page. We meet Malangana and join him on his journey to find Mthwakazi. Mda sets the scene vividly, for a moment, I could feel the ache in my joints as Malangana walked his twisted walk.
My absolute favourite thing about this book is that it IS historical fiction! HA! Mda researched the history of the amaXhosa people all the way back to the 1500s and made an incredible story out of the imagined lives of kings and heroes who really did live. It is quite accurate and beautiful.
My second favourite thing is the language. I love words! English is, shamefully, the only language I speak well enough to boast about but I love all words! Mda uses so many Xhosa words that I began to feel the language on my tongue as I read. Sometimes a translation is offered, sometimes not. The use of Xhosa words is even used as a literary device to mislead the reader at one point. I loved it!!!! Words! Hamza says "You are sitting here for the whole night doing amanyala with this bushman girl while the nation is on fire." The Xhosa word needs no translation.
Malangana speaks some English and works as the king's translator, bringing the two languages together. Mda also uses some splendid and seldom used English words; "gourmandising", "augured" and "impudence", for example, to alienate the average English reader and make the language sound foreign. It works.
Malangana and his Mthwakazi are star-crossed lovers who debate how many suns there are. Their love spans decades and his longing for her moves him forward in his endless journey through the mountains. Will he find this girl that haunts him?
Then, I started noticing it everywhere. Apparently, 'Little Suns' won the 2017 Barry Ronge Fiction Prize. Of course, I had to pick it up off the shelf.
It was historical fiction... Blah. I've said before how much I love this genre.
So, anticipating disappointment, I began reading. The world of Malangana absorbed me from the first page. We meet Malangana and join him on his journey to find Mthwakazi. Mda sets the scene vividly, for a moment, I could feel the ache in my joints as Malangana walked his twisted walk.
My absolute favourite thing about this book is that it IS historical fiction! HA! Mda researched the history of the amaXhosa people all the way back to the 1500s and made an incredible story out of the imagined lives of kings and heroes who really did live. It is quite accurate and beautiful.
My second favourite thing is the language. I love words! English is, shamefully, the only language I speak well enough to boast about but I love all words! Mda uses so many Xhosa words that I began to feel the language on my tongue as I read. Sometimes a translation is offered, sometimes not. The use of Xhosa words is even used as a literary device to mislead the reader at one point. I loved it!!!! Words! Hamza says "You are sitting here for the whole night doing amanyala with this bushman girl while the nation is on fire." The Xhosa word needs no translation.
Malangana speaks some English and works as the king's translator, bringing the two languages together. Mda also uses some splendid and seldom used English words; "gourmandising", "augured" and "impudence", for example, to alienate the average English reader and make the language sound foreign. It works.
Malangana and his Mthwakazi are star-crossed lovers who debate how many suns there are. Their love spans decades and his longing for her moves him forward in his endless journey through the mountains. Will he find this girl that haunts him?